Earth ChangesS


Attention

Dead humpback whale found near Sitka, Alaska

Ed Schoenfeld
kcaw.org
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 10:59 UTC
Stock image
Stock image
A dead whale found floating near Sitka last week was probably killed by a ship. That's the conclusion of a pathologist who inspected the carcass.

The humpback whale was spotted floating in Sitka Sound Sept. 13.

A team from the Sitka Tribe of Alaska and the University of Alaska Southeast arrived last weekend to check out the carcass, which was beached.

Researchers collect samples from a beached humpback whale carcass Saturday on a Sitka Sound beach
© Joe SerioResearchers collect samples from a beached humpback whale carcass Saturday on a Sitka Sound beach
Kathy Burek of Alaska Veterinary Pathology Services says the whale was a sub-adult, about 42 feet long. It had been dead for about a week.

"It had indications of hemorrhage where it had been struck and possibly carried by a ship. So there are areas of trauma that look convincing that it had had a major blunt impact," she said.

She says it was likely a large vessel, such as a tanker, cruise ship or ferry. But she's not positive.
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Fish

Rare fish from warm waters washes up on beach near Tenby, Wales


Tenby Observer
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 10:44 UTC
Pictured is the four-metre blue marlin with Oliver Crimmen (right) and James Maclaine from the Natural History Museum.
Pictured is the four-metre blue marlin with Oliver Crimmen (right) and James Maclaine from the Natural History Museum.
An enormous blue marlin washed up at Freshwater East now has a new home in one of the world's leading marine collections - at the Natural History Museum in London.

The four-metre fish caused excitement locally when it was discovered at the South Pembrokeshire beach last week, with many people believing it to be a swordfish.

Since then, it has been identified as only the third blue marlin ever to be washed up in the UK, and the first full one to be recovered.

The fish was inspected in situ by representatives from Milford Haven Coastguard and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, before being collected from the beach by Pembrokeshire County Council.

Council staff stored it at the Templeton depot and reported it to Rod Penrose of the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme.

And within 24 hours of him contacting the Natural History Museum, two experts from the Department of Life Sciences were on their way to collect it.
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Attention

Signs and Portents: Two-faced calf born in Campbellsville, Kentucky

Josh Breslow
wdrb.com
Sun, 18 Sep 2016 10:12 UTC
Two-headed calf
Two-headed calf
As Stan McCubbin walked his property Friday on Spurlington Road near Campbellsville, he noticed something out of the ordinary.

"From a distance, I thought I had twins lying together," said Stan McCubbin. "I saw two noses. I thought it was twins and then when I saw her, I was just completely blown away."

"He was just like, 'I've got a two-headed calf, so I was in shock," said McCubbin's wife, Brandy.

Lucky -- as she's known -- really earned her name.

"She has two heads, but I'm okay with that," said the couple's five-year-old daughter Kenley.

"I said she was lucky to live, and our little five-year-old, Kenley, said 'That's her name -- Lucky'," said Brandy McCubbin. "She is lucky and we're blessed to have this happen on our farm."

While the family says the heifer calf is lucky to be alive, Lucky does have her share of problems.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill at least 18 people in Uttar Pradesh, India


Al Jazeera
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 09:51 UTC
Lightning strikes kill more than 2,000 people in India every year
© ReutersLightning strikes kill more than 2,000 people in India every year
Severe storms have battered Uttar Pradesh state over the past week.

Eighteen people have been killed after being struck by lightning in the Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh, India.

Uttar Pradesh has been hit by a number of severe thunderstorms over the past week and more are expected over the next few days.

The storms killed eight people on September 16, and 10 more just 48 hours later.

A number of other people are still in intensive care, fighting for their lives.

Monika Rani, district magistrate, said that the families of those who died will be given $5,968 (INR 400,000) in compensation.

Lightning kills a surprising number of people in India. In Uttar Pradesh alone, lightning caused 59 deaths in August, and it's estimated that it kills more than 2,000 people across the country every year.
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Attention

Elephant kills owner in Cambodia

Khouth Sophak Chakrya
The Phnom Penh Post
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 09:15 UTC
Charging elephant
© GettyCharging elephant
A 45-year-old man in Mondulkiri province was attacked and killed by his 37-year-old male elephant yesterday as he attempted to force the animal to return home after it had gone missing for several days. To Meng, Sre Ampoum commune deputy police chief, said that villager Mob Sreng was attacked when he and his nephew tried to catch the elephant, named Mai, to take him home.

A few days earlier, the elephant had become agitated and ran away. "The elephant herder victim was stabbed with the tusks in the ribs and groin," Meng said, adding that the elephant then used its trunk to pick up the man and toss him to the ground, causing instant death. After the fatal incident, the elephant charged at some vans along the road near Bousraa Waterfall, frightening tourists, he said.

Svay Sam Eang, Mondulkiri provincial governor, ordered armed forces to help maintain security and safety. He said Sreng's relatives told him to order his forces to shoot the elephant, but the request was denied.

Elephant keeper Mim Sreng did not survive the attack.
Elephant keeper Mim Sreng did not survive the attack.
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Cloud Precipitation

10 dead after flash flood and landslides hit West Java, Indonesia


Jakarta Post
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 06:20 UTC
west Java flood
At least 10 people have died and three are missing after a flash flood and landslides struck Garut and Sumedang in West Java in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The flash flood struck Bayongbong, Karangpawitan, in Garut regency, at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning after heavy rainfall covered the area from Tuesday evening. The rainfall caused the Cimanuk and Cikamuri rivers to overflow, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Wednesday.

The flashflood in Garut resulted in the deaths of eight people. Many others are injured and hundreds of people have had to leave their homes, Sutopo said, citing data from the Garut Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).

The flood reached up to two meters in height after just three hours of rainfall.

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Arrow Up

Turrialba volcano in Costa Rica erupts twice in one day, ash cloud spews 4 km into sky

Michael Morrow
NEWS.com.au
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 22:40 UTC
Turrialba volcano eruption
© Facebook/Nethanel's BrenesThe spectacular volcanic eruption grounded flights in Costa Rica.
The Costa Rican authorities suspended operations at the country's main airport yesterday after the nearby Turrialba volcano erupted, sending a thick ash cloud into the sky.

The San Jose international airport was temporarily closed for safety reasons because the volcanic ash could cause problems for planes, the civil aviation authority said.

Airport sources said eight approaching flights were diverted as the order was given, some to the north of the country and others to El Salvador.

Turrialba erupted twice, first at dawn and again just before noon.

The second eruption sent an ash cloud 4,000 meters into the air.

The volcano is located 35 kilometres from the capital.

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Windsock

Bering Sea storm to bring hurricane force winds to Southcentral Alaska

Chris Klint
Alaska Dispatch News
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 11:38 UTC
Bering Sea storm
© NOAA/NWSSatellite imagery shows the Bering Sea storm system forecast to cause high surf in the Kuskokwim Delta on Monday and high winds and flooding in Southcentral Alaska on Tuesday.
Parts of Southcentral Alaska could see hurricane-force wind gusts of up to 100 mph and heavy rain starting Tuesday night from a Bering Sea storm system, the National Weather Service reported Monday.

The Weather Service's Anchorage website showed areas affected by a series of high wind warnings, in effect from Tuesday evening into Wednesday, ranging from Seward and the eastern Kenai Peninsula to Prince William Sound. The area around Cordova remained under a wind watch. Most of those areas can expect winds of 40 to 55 mph, with gusts of 75 to 90 mph.

The warning also includes the lower Anchorage Hillside and Eagle River, with winds of 30 to 45 mph and gusts to 65 mph. Along Turnagain Arm and higher elevations, wind speeds of 50 to 65 mph are forecast, along with gusts from 85 to 100 mph.

"Confidence remains high for this storm to produce hurricane force winds along Turnagain Arm, much of the Anchorage area and Portage Valley," meteorologists wrote in an afternoon forecast discussion, though they noted that when and just how hard the winds would hit Anchorage was less certain.

Earlier in the day, forecasters said this week's storm appears to be stronger than the one that moved through Southcentral Alaska earlier this month, which took down trees and knocked out power for thousands of customers from Willow to Homer.
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Cloud Precipitation

Record heavy rain floods south Ukraine


korrespondent.net
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 12:30 UTC
Heavy rain floods south Ukraine September 20th 2016
© korrespondent.net Heavy rain floods south Ukraine September 20th 2016
The city received record rainfall.

Because of strong storm winds and showers, more than two thousand homes remained without electricity in Odessa. This was at the briefing said the assistant Chairman of the Board Odessaoblenergo Boris Trazolan, reports UNIAN.

Flooding
According to him, Odessa disabled 51 transformer substation, which serve 2040 private houses and 62 flats. "If a natural phenomenon will not happen again, we plan tomorrow to connect all of the disconnected homes to electricity. Priority house high-rise buildings," said Tradevan.



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Cloud Lightning

Update: Lightning strikes kill at least 18 in a single day across Bangladesh


The Star (Bangladesh)
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 20:25 UTC
At least nine people are killed and five others injured in separate lightning strikes in Sunamganj and Tangail districts on September 20, 2016.
At least nine people are killed and five others injured in separate lightning strikes in Sunamganj and Tangail districts on September 20, 2016.
At least 18 people were killed and 15 others injured in lightning strikes in Tangail, Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, Dinajpur, Chapainawabganj and Manikganj yesterday.

In Tangail, a man and his two sons were killed and his wife was injured at a village in Madhupur upazila's Beribaid union in the early hours.

The dead are Nikhil Hajong, 45, his sons George Simsang, 11, and Loton Simsang, 9. Nikhil's wife Janata Simsang, 30, suffered critical burns.

Janata was first taken to Madhupur Upazila Health Complex but later shifted to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, said Shafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Madhupur Police Station.

The incident occurred around 4:30am when they were sleeping at their home in the forest area. One of the windows of the house was open when lightning struck, the OC quoted locals as saying.
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